


Searching for Salvation

by MickieLynn



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Explicit Language, Hopefully I bring something new to the table, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, TAKE ME TO CHURCH, This is going to get smuttier and more violent as I get on, yep another demon Jack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:36:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MickieLynn/pseuds/MickieLynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys is a young priest who exorcises a demon that calls itself "Handsome Jack" out of a girl named Sasha only to later, gradually, find out the beast did not get banished back  to Hell like it was supposed to. His amateurish method only released it from its previous host and it has attached itself to him. Unfortunately, no one else can hear or see his tormentor as it slowly uses everything in its arsenal to work into the weaknesses the priest joined the church to try and escape in the first place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Path is Set

Sin was the reason Rhys joined the priesthood, why he buried himself deep within the protective arms of the church. He thought if only he sought salvation through service, could he escape the desires that haunted him from an early age. Those desires his mother called "deviant" and "disgusting". His shame and fear led him to the doors of the Holy Church of Hyperion. 

It was there that he learned to push his mind away from needs of the flesh through studies. Every time those traitorous urges stirred within him, he would turn to his books. He would study scripture, history of the church, and grew proficient in many various rituals that ranged from the common marriage ceremony to those considered more… _unusual_. It was because of his new found expertise in the field of exorcism that he was called to Bishop Vasquez's office on the midwinter night that changed everything. 

Rhys stopped momentarily outside of the office which sat far back from the main halls of the cathedral and ran his fingers back through his amber hair to both assure he looked presentable and to try and still the worry in his fingers. Upon returning from his visit to a church that lay on the outskirts of the diocese, the young priest had found a missive on his desk summoning him to see his boss as soon as possible. How long that request had sat was unknowable and Rhys worried that he would be on the receiving end of a reprimand before he had a chance to explain why it took so long for him to respond. Hugo Vasquez was not known to be the most patient or understanding of men. How he became a Bishop at all escaped Rhys entirely. 

With a bracing sigh, he raised his hand and rapped his knuckles briskly against the heavy wooden door. Delaying any further would only make the situation worse. 

"Come in," called the dark haired man with a false tone of friendliness that dropped away as soon as the door opened and he saw who it was on the other side. "Father, I sent for you two days ago. Mind telling me why it is just now that you are getting back to me?" His fingers interlocked heavily atop his wooden desk in a gesture that oozed disappointment and was punctuated by a frown that was clearly visible amidst the man's full beard. 

Keeping his face still, Rhys did his best to show respect. "I'm afraid I was not here when you called for me." He took careful steps further into the room. "I had been out on a visit to Old Haven to retrieve a book I have been searching for over-" 

"Whatever," Vasquez interrupted, waving off the excuse he would no doubt see as thin and flimsy as the man giving it. "What's important is that you're here now. I have a very important mission for you in Hollow Point." A grin replaced the scowl across the Bishop's face. "You're the one that has gotten himself real familiar with the old rituals, aren't ya?" Hugo fingered through his papers, looking for the right one while continuing to talk. "A real sucker for the weird stuff, right?" 

Rhys could already feel the tips of his ears burning. "I don't just research the _'weird stuff'_ , as you put it." The Bishop always mocked his quest for unusual knowledge. It was by the grace of God himself that the man didn't have a clue as to the actual reason for his fervent studies. He would be ridiculed and banished from the church if Vasquez knew he was trying to vanquish demons of his own. 

"Well, Father," the way he said Rhys' title sounded almost sarcastic, "the _weird stuff_ is what actually matters right now." Finding the paper he had been looking for, the Bishop pulled it out and shook it. "Seems like we have a good old fashioned demon possession that has your name written all over it." He slapped it down and slid it over to the younger man. 

Rhys could not deny that his interest had been piqued. A demon possession? Here? Now? It was completely unheard of. There hadn't been a recorded case of true demonic presence in the world for centuries. His long, slender fingers flexed towards the leaf of paper eagerly. "Are you sure it isn't a hoax or something? Someone wanting to get media attention or to get their name all over the ECHOnet?" 

Vasquez's fingers waggled the paper over the surface of his desktop. "It's already been checked out and verified while you took forever to get back. The family actually doesn't want this going public." He dropped his usual mocking demeanor for a more direct tone. "They're scared, Rhys. " 

The way his boss spoke stopped Rhys cold. This was no joking matter if Vasquez was actually taking it seriously. He had to do something. If not only to help this family, but to perhaps see for himself the reality of Hell. Maybe he could even demand why he had been so undeservedly cursed. "Y-yeah. Of course. Right away, sir." He slipped the paper from under the other man's fingers and hurriedly folded it before shoving it into the pocket of his slacks. "I'll leave right away to do what I can for these people."

"See that you do, Father." The Bishop's tone was already back to its usual unimpressed flat speech. "Doing well will make _both_ of us look good here. If you succeed, I'm sure Henderson and Tassiter will be impressed." He casually name dropped the local archbishops in a bid to appeal to Rhys' ambition. 

Somehow, Rhys was sure that most of the blame would fall on his shoulders if things went south, while it would be Vasquez's name if he was successful. He didn't care. This one wasn't about credit or reward. This one was about helping that family and, maybe, finally getting some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just the set up, I swear


	2. Closer to the Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys makes his way to the town where the possession is, runs into an old friend, and finds unexpected help.

To aid in making church business easier, every major chapel in the Church of Hyperion had been equipped with a Fast Travel teleportation station. The halls of the sleeping cathedral in Helios, the see of their diocese and where Rhys lived, echoed with the footsteps of his dress shoes hitting hard marble floors as he hurried towards the room theirs was in, trying his best not to appear too eager in the unlikely event anyone was up to see him. 

Before the evening had turned fully to night, Rhys had packed everything he thought he might need for the trip out to Hollow Point into his travel bag; a change of clothes for both day and night, toiletries, his Bible, his rosary, a phial of holy water, and every book he had collected over the subject of exorcism. He was hoping that this would be a quick excursion without error. Every video he had watched over the subject made it seem as if they could be done within a few hours, unless it proved a difficult one, in which case it would be quite easy to take the Fast Travel back if the need to resupply came up. 

The young priest was excited beyond the already enticing aspects of the trip ahead of him. The nearest Fast Travel station in Hollow Point was at the monastery just at the entrance of the subterranean town. While Rhys, with all his ambition, had gone to the cathedral in Helios after seminary, it was Hollow Point Monastery that had called to his best friend. It had been years since he had seen Vaughn in person. He made sure to send word ahead before he packed so his best friend would be there to greet him, even if it was for a short amount of time. 

Shouldering his bag a little more securely, Rhys stepped up to the metal device that looked out of place in the gothic architecture of his church and keyed in Hollow Point Monastery. Blue light swirled around him, obscuring his surroundings as they changed from the comfortable familiarity of home to a much more simple design. 

The glow had barely faded out to a natural light before the young priest was wrapped in an unexpectedly strong embrace that pinned his arms to his side. "Brother!" the shorter man shouted into the back of Rhys' black dress shirt before letting him go. 

"Vaughn!" laughed Rhys once he was released. He ran his fingers back through his hair to try and fix the amber mess his friend's manhanding had caused. "It's Father now, you know that." He turned and playfully clapped Vaughn on the shoulder hard enough to unseat the square glasses that perched on his squat nose. 

"I don't care if you become the Pope," The young monk-in-training grinned as he thumbed his glasses back in place, "you'll always be a brother to me."

Rhys let the warmth take to his cheeks for a moment before brushing it off for the business at hand. "So this possession, huh?" He reached into his pocket for the details given to him by Vasquez. "Do you know anything about this family?" He unfolded the paper and handed it to his friend. 

"Sasha: sister of Fiona, daughter of Felix." Vaughn rubbed his chin as his voice trailed off to focus on the details. "No," he finally shook his head. "The names don't ring a bell, but the area they live in isn't the best part of a town not known for being that great in the first place, Rhys." He handed back the paper. "I can't say I'm not worried. There's a pretty big criminal element and you're not exactly…" Vaughn waved his hand in the general vicinity of Rhys' person. "you know."

"Ha. Ha. Yes. I know." The young priest crossed his arms and looked down at the other man. "I can't just ignore this. For one thing, these people need my help. I can't just let this girl _stay_ possessed! Second, this is official church business. If I blew it off, for whatever reason, the Bishop would have my head. My boss has no patience for failure. I'd end up as my church's official janitor for the rest of my life." 

"Whoa, Brother, that's not what I meant." Vaughn put his hands on Rhys' shoulders in a gesture to calm his oldest friend. "I just mean maybe I should go with you to help." He smiled a little and shrugged. "You know, I could be your muscle if anything went wrong. It _is_ official church business after all."

"You?" Rhys raised his brow questioningly. "Don't get me wrong, I would love to have you join me, but last I recall, you couldn't properly fight off a cold, much less bandits."

"It's this monastery." he reached over and squeezed his friend's arm with a surprisingly strong grip. "They have health regiments I didn't know about when I applied here. I'm not complaining though." He patted the crinkled black material of Rhys' sleeve. "Perhaps it was a part of His plan that I accompany you on this mission."

"Perhaps." The priest laughed through his grimace and rubbed where he could still feel fingerprints on his arm. "Who am I to argue with His plan?" Rhys jogged his head towards the door of the Fast Travel room. "Go grab your things then, while I call the hotel and get another room. I want to get to this first thing in the morning. The less a presence Hell has on the earth, the better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is the one where warnings will start to be a big deal, so I hope you're not too comfortable with the easy way this story is going so far...


	3. The Colors of Your Sin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Vaughn go to Hollow Point to exorcise the demon from the girl named Sasha. We met Handsome Jack and learn a little about why he is on Pandora.

Morning had not been around long by the time Rhys was rifling through his overnight bag with one hand, blindly looking for his white plastic collar insert, while simultaneously using the other hand to button up his freshly ironed black dress shirt. Just because his near constant quest for rare books had him a regular patron of hotels, it by no means meant he was any more skilled at keeping organized while traveling. Still, he was making good time and had been sure to give Vaughn a wake up call early so his partner in this mission would also be good to go in time. 

The knock at his door let him know that the monk had managed to beat him in getting ready, but that was no surprise with how long Rhys always took shaving and carefully moussing his hair back, two things his bearded and somewhat shaggy haired friend did not waste time on. "Come in, the door's unlocked!" If he could just find his insert, all he needed was to put on his shoes and he was ready. 

Bearing a plate overloaded with food from the hotel's breakfast buffet, Vaughn entered the room rather cheerily for the early hour. He carefully deposited the plate beside Rhys' bag and dropped a canvas backpack on the floor. "I read over that book you gave me last night and had the guys send some extra stuff on the off chance it gets hard." He picked a croissant up off the plate clearly meant for the both of them and bit down on an end, chewing and swallowing before he continued. "I know you're hoping it will be an easy case, but I figured it would be better safe than sorry. I know you wanna do this right. I got candles, consecrated oil, some extra crosses, a video recorder, and salt. We don't wanna just get this thing out of the girl. We want to banish it back to Hell and keep it there!" 

Stuffing another piece of the croissant into his cheek, Vaughn reached over and pinched the sleeve of his best friend's shirt. "And I grabbed a coat for you. It's the middle of winter, for goodness sake. I think you use Fast Travel too much, Brother, you know we have to actually go outside to get to this girl's house, right?"

With a small triumphant noise, Rhys pulled the stiff strip of white plastic from the lining of his bag where it had been hiding. "Yeah, I guess you have a point," he cracked the faintest of smiles and peered at his friend from the sides of his eyes, "as usual." A quick, practiced motion slipped the insert into place and the priest sat on his bed to pull his polished black shoes on. 

"I can't believe you still wear those." The monk's eyes rolled at the bright yellow and blue striped socks that were currently being stuffed into shoes. "Do… do those have _stars_ on them?" 

"Hey," Rhys began in mock offense, "I have to wear all black all the time. I need a little color in my life." He stood and put his fists on his hips as the cuffs of his slacks fell to completely hide his ridiculous socks. "See? You can't even tell." 

Turning to give himself one last look in the full length mirror, the young priest straightened his collar and looked at his friend's reflection. "Alright, hand me a bagel, that coat, and let's go save a soul."

\---------------------------------------

The cab dropped them off in a dark alleyway in front of an unmarked door. Though all streets in the cave town of Hollow Point were dark by nature, this one seemed even more so than one could reasonably expect for the time of day. It felt like a sinister kind of darkness dwelt on this street. The pair paid for the ride and did their best to stand unafraid as the car peeled out, escaping whatever it was that hung in the air. 

"This is definitely the place." Vaughn whispered lowly, staring at the door as if he expected it to come alive at any moment. 

"Definitely." Rhys nodded in agreement, guilty himself of treating the door with an unnatural fear. 

"We should probably go in now." 

"Yeah." Straightening his shoulders, Rhys walked up to the plain gray door and knocked firmly. There was no sound from the other side and he worried that the cab had brought him to the wrong address, despite the feeling of foreboding that hung like a thick miasma around the dwelling. Just as he was about to turn around and go back to where his friend stood, a click of the lock sounded and the door opened inward to reveal a dark skinned girl with a face full of worry. 

"Hello, you are Fiona, I take it?" He recalled the name from the paper he had been given. Offering his hand out, he made to introduce himself "I am-" 

"You're the priest, the one from the chapel in Helios, right?" The woman interrupted him anxiously. "You're here to help my sister, Sasha?" 

"Yeah," he tried to smile comfortingly. "My name is Father Rhys, this is Brother Vaughn, and we are indeed here to do everything in our power to help your sister. " 

\-------------------------------

Jack fucking loved humans. They were little bottles of Heaven's light just waiting to be broken open and bathed in. Missing the Light was one thing, but they were so, so, so much more than that. Once you got a look inside them, they were filled with all these _colors_ too and that just made him want them more. There was the sick emerald green of jealousy, the sticky pulsing crimson of rage, the way those who have murdered before had streaks of brilliant purple etched through them, the deep swirling black of unyielding despair… Ah, they truly were his Father's greatest works of art. 

It had taken him literally _centuries_ to claw his way to the surface. When he had finally made it, he'd been so thoroughly weakened that he needed to find a host. He was fortunate the girl, Sasha, had been nearby. Her young body, so full of anger, had been a cozy incubator for his magnificent essence while he regained corporeal presence.

Though now they found themselves with both arms handcuffed to a bed, and not in the fun way, awaiting some snot nosed priest who was supposed to be an expert in exorcism. Expert? These little meat puppets didn't live long enough to have seen the last time one of his kind had graced this cesspool of a planet. This would be entertaining. 

It was all Jack's fault he was in this current situation, even if he would never admit it to anyone other than himself. He wasn't ever very good at "self restraint". He was a _demon_ , after all. Something as pointless as self-control was best left to the angels with their scraping and bowing and kneeling. It was little slip ups at first, but he could have gotten away with those by giving her family the big eyes and weaving an expert lie or two. He didn't pick a vessel with anger issues and a cute face by accident, after all. 

Obviously. 

However, it was only a matter of time before his natural demonic presence was discovered and it had been a spectacular scene when it was. Blood _everywhere_. It hadn't even been an outburst of anger or any of his other various murderous moods, of which there were many. He was just trying to find a color he hadn't seen yet. So what if he had to crack open a few dozen or so bandits in his search. It was fucking hilarious to see the look on their faces when they were absolutely destroyed by a pretty little girl. He'd seen what they had in mind for his vessel. Honestly, it was boring. He was kind of embarrassed for them. Didn't anyone have any more creativity than that? Jack wasn't neutered, but he did more than think with his cock. 

It really says something if a demon is disappointed in your motives. 

Now all he could do is wait for this kid to try and kick him out. Being bound to a vessel as he was, he couldn't escape the cuffs any more than Sasha could on her own and that really sucked. 

He would literally kill for a cigarette right about now. 

\------------------------------

"Okay," Rhys took off his coat and hung it gingerly on the coatrack in the hall, "we're all on board, right?" He looked to the family gathered for support. Fiona, the sister, nodded and flexed her hands into fists once before stilling them. Felix, the father, just bowed his head and leaned against his cane. Lastly, August, the boyfriend, turned to retreat back to the kitchen, unable to watch what was about to transpire. All of them looked like they had been through so much. 

With one last prayer for strength, Rhys opened the door to the room that the family had trapped the beast in. 

It was dark beyond the portal, all lights having been burned out the second the door cracked. The priest gestured for his friend to get his bag, "Candles," he hissed. He would have to remember to thank Vaughn later for the extra supplies. Within seconds a thick white candle was lit and passed into his hand so he could enter the room, the monk handing more to each person as they passed. The glow slowly revealed the girl lying prone, her arms tightly cuffed to the copper bed posts. 

"We-we had to. She was growing violent,hurting herself and others." The sound of shame was plain on Felix's voice. 

Rhys opened his mouth to offer an understanding when he was broken off by thick laughter coming from the head of the bed. "Does that help you sleep at night, _daddy_?" The words were followed by a harsh jerk on the shackles. 

The was an audible gasp from everyone in the room. The voice did not belong to a young woman. It was twisted and full of spite with a second octave running just below the one you would expect a young woman to have. The effect was clearly evil. If there had been any doubt in the clergymen's mind that there was something unholy about this, it was wiped away in that instant. 

Vaughn quietly pulled the video recorder out of the bag and began filming as Rhys spoke. "Listen to me, devil." He did his best to keep the shake out of his voice. A man could watch every video on demon possession, read every book, but until he was faced with a real case himself, he didn't know what he was getting himself into. He carefully put his candle down on the nightstand and reached into his bag for the rosary and holy water he'd stashed there. "I call upon you and demand you give me your name so that I may drive you from this girl."

Another bought of frightening laughter shook the girl in the bed. "You think knowing my name will help you get rid of me? As if I were so easy a stain to remove." Sasha's head, being driven by the thing inside, finally turned to lay her eyes on the man addressing them. 

The being was silent for a contemplative moment. Usually the colors in priests were so dull, washed out by a life lived too close to the Light. In this one, however, he could see so many shades sparkling just beneath the surface, a beautiful young priest brimming with untapped sin. Soft greens glimmered in his belly, cerulean behind his brown eyes, coral on his lips, a bright yellow painted his throat, and electric fuschia glowed from his-

Well, Jack did say he wasn't neutered, didn't he? 

This boy had questions, had, dare he say it, _desires_ … Jack's grin was so wide that it ghosted beyond the confines of the girl's mouth. "The name's Handsome Jack, cupcake."

The auburn haired man uncorked the Holy water and flicked it into their face, earning a quick guttural growl. "I banish you back to Hell, Jack, and I-" 

"I said _Handsome_ Jack, pumpkin, not just Jack," the creature smirked smugly with stolen lips. 

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. How do you expect to exorcise me properly if you don't use my actual name."

"I doubt _Handsome_ Jack is your actual name."

"Oh, I assure you. It is."

Rhys looked over his shoulder at Vaughn exasperatedly and was met with a shrug before returning to the business at hand. "Alright, _Handsome Jack_ ," he rolled his rosary around his hand and pressed the cross against Sasha's forehead. "I demand you vacate your occupation of this girl immediately!" His long thin fingers threaded into her braids as he mingled the rosary's crucifix with the Holy water on her face. 

Vaughn set the camera on the dresser, making sure it was set up to catch as much of the process as it could from a stationary position before circling around the bed, dotting consecrated oil on Sasha's ankles, wrists and temples in hopes that it would help work the demon loose. 

Lowly, the priest prayed for her deliverance and watched as he saw a dark form raise over the still body on the bed. It looked as if a heavy shadow was separating from the one who cast it. The shape adjusted on its own, not taking a definite configuration until it was wholly apart. The outline resemble nothing more than a man, broad of shoulder, but neither tall nor short. Shouldn't it have horns? A tail? Wings? This was a demon, after all. 

What he could see of the creature's face was black as pitch with a thick scar that ran up one one side and down the other. The garish pucker glowed blue like an otherworldly rune meant to contain the beast. 

Rhys reached out, helplessly compelled to touch this _Handsome Jack_. As his fingers stopped less than an inch from that unnatural face, its eyes bolted open and immediately met the priest's. Like every other visible part of this being, the demon's eyes were beautiful and terrifying, one as bright blue as the sky at dawn and the other as clear green as sea glass. The scripture had warned that the devil had been the most beautiful of God's angels, but Rhys had been unprepared for how it stirred him. 

Wisps of shadow lifted off the demon and kissed against the priest's fingertips. _Will you finish the job, man of God, and never find the answers you seek?_ The words in Rhys' head, while just as unnerving, were far less rough than before. Distantly, he could hear Vaughn saying something before ushering the family out of the room. One thin tendril of darkness wrapped around Rhys' middle finger. _I have so much I could show you, could tell you, could **teach** you._ The priest's breath hitched in his chest as he felt his body flood with heat at the demon's words. This is what he had been searching for, after all, wasn't it? He didn't even notice as his head nodded with the slightest of gestures. The turn of Handsome Jack's lips widened from a slight grin to a wide smile full of sharp white teeth. He felt a sting where the shadow touched his hand before suddenly, as if he had never been there, Jack was gone. 

The lights were finally coming back on in the room when Vaughn was returning from removing the family, a cross in one hand and the salt in the other. "Brother, are you okay?" He looked around the room searching for the dark presence, bewildered that the situation should change so drastically in such a short amount of time. "For a minute I thought…" 

"Y-yeah." Rhys rubbed his hands on the sides of his slacks to hide their shaking. "There was a little bit of a battle, but nothing I didn't think might happen." He gave his friend a reassuring smile before turning towards Sasha. "Miss?" He touched her shoulder lightly to rouse her. "Your family is looking forward to seeing you." He nodded an okay at the monk to go get the others. 

As soon as his best friend left the room, Rhys grabbed the video recorder off the dresser and crammed it into his pocket. The compact machine barely fit, but he wasn't taking any chances something had been caught that he wouldn't be able to explain. At least not until he figured out what it was he had just done. 

It was as heartwarming a scene as any to see the family reunited. They could not say thank you enough, but Rhys told them over and over that it was merely his duty while trying to fend off the sick feelings of guilt and wrong that sat in the pit of his stomach. 

As quickly as politeness would allow, the priest and the monk called for their cab so that the family could privately enjoy the providence they had been given. Before long the taxi idled outside, honking, and they said their goodbyes with promises to check up on them soon. The pair of clergyman hauled their bags out into the car's trunk and bundled into the back seat, hurrying to minimize time spent in the cold outside. 

"That was incredible, Brother. I mean, I was worried for a minute, but you knew what you were doing!" Vaughn was oblivious to the way his friend shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking over his shoulder at the slowly disappearing street they had just left. There was quite a noticeable difference in the atmosphere surrounding the home when they left it compared to their arrival. It was less foreboding, less _scary_. Vaughn was happy to believe that they had done their job and sent the demon packing. 

Rhys knew better. 

_Ohhhhh, cupcake, you don't know how right you are._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if that was too long... I probably should have split that up into at least two chapters, but I didn't want to break the scene.


End file.
